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Should You Use Topical CBD or Oral CBD? How absorption may impact your choice.

  • What is topical CBD?
  • What is oral CBD?
  • What are bioavailability and absorption?
  • Is there anything you can do to increase the absorption of CBD?
  • What is nanoparticle CBD?
  • Should You use Topical CBD or Oral CBD?

    There are many ways to utilize CBD for your health, but two of the most popular routes are topical application and oral ingestion. Let’s dive into what they are, how they are used, and how they differ.

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    Topical CBD refers to lotions, salves, creams, or oils that have been infused with CBD, and are intended to be applied directly to sore muscles, aching or stiff joints, or at the site of inflammation. Topical and transdermal products typically have a bioavailability rate of around 45% (4). It can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour for topical CBD to be absorbed and felt in the affected area. 

    When CBD is applied to the skin, it is absorbed locally but doesn’t enter into the bloodstream like oral or other routes of ingesting CBD. Because it is absorbed into the tissue of the location where it is applied, it is often utilized for localized muscle tension, stiff joints, or inflammation.

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    Oral CBD can be defined in a few different ways and is often used interchangeably by different sources. Oral CBD can be categorized as edible (ingested), oromucosal (a mouth/throat spray), or sublingual (absorbed under the tongue). 

    Oral CBD comes in many forms. When it’s used in a tincture it is often infused into olive, coconut, or MCT oil. It can be distilled into a potent powder or isolate which can be mixed into another substance or baked/infused into an edible or beverage. CBD can also be developed into water-compatible nanoparticles, which have a faster onset than topical or oil-based options. Nanoparticle CBD can be mixed into water unlike oil-based forms of CBD which separate when mixed into water and take much longer to be absorbed.  

    Historically, the bioavailability of oral CBD options has ranged from about 13-19%(5), but the technology that breaks CBD particles down into nanoparticle water-compatible CBD increases bioavailability dramatically - as much as 4-5x more. Depending on the route of ingestion, traditional oil-based oral CBD may take 45 minutes to 2 hours to be absorbed and felt. Whereas nanoparticle CBD has a much faster onset and can be absorbed within minutes of being consumed. 

    Many ongoing studies and anecdotal accounts suggest that oral forms of CBD have the potential to support physical wellness and may create a sense of calm or reduce feelings of anxiety.

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    The word bioavailable refers to the percentage of the substance (in this instance, CBD) that has a practical and active effect in the body. The term absorption is sometimes used in combination or in replacement of bioavailability but often refers to how our bodies process and utilize the compound. 

    The long and short; the bioavailability of a product is how much of the substance is intended to be delivered, and absorption is the level of effectiveness in delivering the medicine to your body and the way your body puts it to use. 

    The way the CBD is formulated - like a water-based nano CBD particle vs. an oil-based CBD- may also allow for more of the actual CBD compound (sometimes up to 80% or more) to be absorbed and utilized by your body. Overall, nanoparticle water-based CBD is superior in bioavailability, absorption, and has a faster onset compared to oil-based CBD options. 

    In addition, absorption is affected by several additional things: 

    1. The lipophilicity of CBD (a fancy word for fat-soluble nature)

    2. The route in which we consume CBD (edibles, sublingual tinctures, combustion, etc.)

    3. Naturally existing organ tissue differences (i.e., alveolar/lungs, dermal/skin, or gastric/the stomach and liver) (1)

    4. The extraction method that was used to isolate the CBD

    5. Each person’s natural biological differences

    6. And the time of day it is consumed

    It can be challenging to pinpoint exactly how you’ll absorb CBD. It may take time to understand how your body processes and utilizes CBD, but keeping a log can help to narrow down what works best for you. 

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    In fact, there is! Choosing the right product can make all the difference. Knowing the source and extraction practices is important because not all products are made equally.  

    Consuming a product that has nanoparticle CBD can increase the potential bioavailability up to 80-100% and absorption to near 100% and have a much faster onset - taking mere minutes. Whereas some oil-based tinctures only offer up to 45% bioavailability, and when consumed orally can deliver a low absorption rate of 6%. The absorption of oils and capsules can also be slow, erratic, and variable (3), and may take anywhere from 60 minutes to 6 hours to reach full absorption. 

    One study suggests that a potential method to increase oral bioavailability is to administer CBD alongside a high-fat/high-calorie meal, which could increase bioavailability up to 4x versus consuming CBD on an empty stomach (2). 

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    Nanotechnology has been widely used in medicine because it increases the absorption of the substance into the bloodstream.  When particles are broken down into microscopic pieces, your body doesn’t have to work as hard to digest or process them, but rather gets to work absorbing them into the bloodstream. This allows the particles to be delivered faster and to be absorbed at a much higher rate. 

    CBD is both hydrophobic and lipophilic - it doesn’t dissolve in water, but it does dissolve in fats. Breaking it down to the microscopic level allows CBD to dissolve better in water or other non-oil-based liquids. This makes nanoparticle CBD the closest thing to being “water-based CBD” on a microscopic level - even though it never fully dissolves in water. Due to the small size of the particles, they are absorbed easier by our tissues and are distributed into the bloodstream faster as well. 

    Nanotechnology has improved the oral bioavailability of CBD dramatically, offering effective new options to consume CBD. This makes nanoparticle water-based CBD the most versatile, bioavailable, effective, and fastest CBD option available. 

    If you are curious about water-soluble CBD, check out the shop page for products that fit your needs.



    Resources: 

    1. Bruni, N., Della Pepa, C., Oliaro-Bosso, S., Pessione, E., Gastaldi, D., & Dosio, F. (2018). Cannabinoid Delivery Systems for Pain and Inflammation Treatment. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 23(10), 2478. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23102478

    2. Millar, S. A., Maguire, R. F., Yates, A. S., & O'Sullivan, S. E. (2020). Towards Better Delivery of Cannabidiol (CBD). Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland), 13(9), 219. https://doi.org/10.3390/ph13090219 

    3. Bruni, N., Della Pepa, C., Oliaro-Bosso, S., Pessione, E., Gastaldi, D., & Dosio, F. (2018). Cannabinoid Delivery Systems for Pain and Inflammation Treatment. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 23(10), 2478. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules23102478 

    4. Kalpana S. Paudel, Dana C. Hammell, Remigius U. Agu, Satyanarayana Valiveti & Audra L. Stinchcomb (2010) Cannabidiol bioavailability after nasal and transdermal application: effect of permeation enhancers, Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy, 36:9, 1088-1097, DOI: 10.3109/03639041003657295. https://doi.org/10.3109/03639041003657295

    5. Scuderi, Caterina, De Filippis, Daniele, Filippis, Daniele De, Iuvone, Teresa, Blasio, Angelo, Steardo, Antonio, & Esposito, Giuseppe. (2009). Cannabidiol in medicine: a review of its therapeutic potential in CNS disorders. http://doi.org/10.1002/ptr.2625 

    Author: Bri Smith